Milos Raonic keeps winning in possible last Canadian tournament

Milos Raonic is making the most of his (likely) farewell tour.

Facing Japanese player Taro Daniel in the second round of the 2023 National Bank Open in Toronto, Raonic bested his opponent by a 6-4, 6-3 victory in straight sets to advance to Thursday’s Round of 16 draw, setting up a matchup against American Mackenzie McDonald, currently ranked 59th in the world.

Raonic had previously beaten Frances Tiafoe on Monday night in Toronto to advance to the second round. Entering the tournament as a wild card, Raonic has likely already succeeded his pre-tournament expectations after missing nearly two years due to injury before a return earlier this year.

And it’s possible that this is his last time playing in Canada, with Raonic hinting at retirement throughout the 2023 season.

“Good chance that it’s probably my last time coming out here,” Raonic told TSN’s Mark Masters following his elimination from Wimbledon earlier this year. 

With injury problems lingering throughout his career, Raonic has built up a legacy as one of the greatest Canadian tennis players of all time, and it’s quite obvious he’s been embracing the chance to play on home court for potentially one last time.

Ranked third in the world in 2016, Raonic’s career highlight came that same year when he reached the final at Wimbledon.

But much like Genie Bouchard in the Wimbledon women’s singles final two years prior, Raonic wasn’t quite able to make the most of his, falling to two-time champion Andy Murray, who is also nearing the end of his career at age 36.

It wouldn’t be until 2019 when a Canadian won a major singles trophy, with Bianca Andreescu winning the US Open at age 18.

The other remaining Canadian in the men’s singles draw is 21-year-old Montreal native Gabriel Diallo, who picked up his first career pro win on Tuesday night over Dan Evans, and is slated to play Wednesday afternoon.

Felix Auger-Aliassime was eliminated on Tuesday with a loss to Max Purcell, while Denis Shapovalov withdrew prior to the tournament due to an injury.

More to come…

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